An Unheard Voice - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

The train was actually more crowded than earlier. I'd usually be too scared to go places with more than 5 people but for some reason, I'm not in fear at all. Is it because Akito is by my side.?
"So, uh.. Do you have food you don't like?" He asks, and I nod.
"I don't like squid. The texture is just weird for me."
"Huh, that's interesting. I don't like carrots, don't- call me childish or anything.." Akito blushes, and I smile.
"Okay, so now we're at Nishiki market. We have about half an hour to walk around before An picks us up and chooses the lunch place." Akito says as we step out of the station, and  look around. This place is huge.
"Anything in particular you want?" He asks, and I freeze. I'm not very good at deciding anything. I shake my head, and he still stares at me. "Indecisive, huh? That's fine. Let's just take a look around for anything you may want."
I nod, and follow him through this place. There's.. a lot of people. What if I got lost and Akito got angry with me? Like how my father used to, but my mother was the only one who bawled everywhere looking for me like I died or something. What if someone tried approaching me to ask a question? I can only feel my heart pounding like crazy as I'm lost in thought.
"Are you okay? You're kind of wobbling." Akito says, as I keep trying to keep my balance. I feel like puking. Why does it feel like I'm running out of oxygen.? He grabs my hand, and walks me away from the crowd, placing me on the floor in an alley.
"I'm fine, Akito. I just get this weak feeling every now and then." My writing hand is getting weaker and the letters are getting sloppier.
"Be honest with me. Is it because this place has more people than you were expecting? You're fine, don't worry about it. I'm here, Toya." Akito smiles, while I'm just sitting here, dizzy.
"Stay still, okay? Don't move at all, and don't let anyone touch you. I promise I'll be back shortly. If anyone tries to take you, I would be arrested. Please, don't go anywhere." He grabs my shoulders, looking me in the eyes with a serious expression. My face flushes, and that stopped my dizziness at least. I nod, and he rushes into a restaurant.
I wonder what he's going to get. Maybe I'm being dramatic, maybe it's not.. that noisy? I just don't like loud places with a lot of people. I'm not used to it. It felt as if everyone was staring at me and saying stuff about me. I'm probably scared of that because I haven't seen an audience with their eyes on me since my performance when I was 8. This is embarrassing.
Everyone seems to pass by the alley without noticing I'm here. That's good, because now nobody can speak to me. Maybe this is where I should be. I'm quiet, so nobody wanted to speak to me. My father was the only one who would, but only to help me with the piano. It wasn't good whenever he did. I heard him and mother fighting all the time.
A few minutes pass, and I've calmed down. I think I'll be alright.
"Toya!" Akito huffs, holding food in his hand. "I really hope you're okay with takoyaki, because it was the nearest thing here.." He sits in front of me, panting. "They took too damn long. Here, I'll feed you if your hands are too shaky." Akito offers, holding it up to me by the toothpick. I blush, and my eyes widen. Huh?!
I shake my head rapidly, moving my head away from the food.
"Oh, do you not want me to? It's fine if you're not okay with it, it's alright." Akito says, like he made me uncomfortable and got embarrassed or something.. I feel guilty. He went through all that trouble to get me food, and usually people before would tell me to just stop shaking and stop 'acting'. Well, only my father did that.
I open my mouth, closing my eyes out of embarrassment. I didn't think, I just did it. I wonder if I can dig a hole and die in it right now.
"Huh? Oh.." Akito says, as his voice grows quiet, then clears his throat. He puts the food in my mouth, and I take it from there, looking away.
We both look away, flushed. Why is my heart pounding so much? It's not that weird, because An did it when we first met, so.. wait, but maybe I should return the favor. I don't think he got any food for himself.
I take the toothpick, and hold it up to his mouth. I'm internally crying and screaming, but this is proper thanking, right?
"T-Toya, you don't have to-" Akito says, and I look at him with determination. He sighs, and already knows I'm not taking 'no' for an answer.
"Is.. Is it good?" I ask. We're alone in a quiet place, so it's fine for me to talk now.
He nods, smiling. Crap, he's cute. I've never had takoyaki before, but it might be my favorite food now. Akito's notifications started to blow up, and it was An asking where we were. She ended up getting separated by Kusanagi, but she ran into us in the alley to escape the crowd. An was the only one that was lost now, so we all just met back at the station.
"We're going to downtown kyoto now!!" An grabs Kusanagi's hand and mine again, running to the train for the destination. I think she does this to leave Akito behind.
"Well, might as well call it a day after that. We have an hour and a half left. If we don't return by then, the teacher might actually kill us all.." He laughs, and I get surprised. We should eat fast.
"What do you want there?" Kusanagi asks An.
"Soba!"
"Is the place any good, though?" Akito gives her an uncertain look.
"Well, Nene let me use her phone to search it up. It's called 'Kawamichiya Ginka'-?"
After a while, the train arrives at the place. When we do, the girls have to lead us there.
"Here it is!" An says, like she's promoting the place.
"It looks way out of your pocket. I don't believe you can pay for it." Akito raises an eyebrow, not feeling convinced. I could probably pay for us all.
"I can pay for us." An snatches the notebook from my hands, smacking my forehead softly with it. But then Akito takes it and punches her with it before handing it back to me.
"Ouch! But you can't spend your money on us, I won't let you!" An cries, and Kusanagi nods.
"Yeah, I would feel guilty if you did. Even if I pitch in, I'd still feel bad." Akito says, with his hands on my shoulders.
I don't want them to worry about me. My family is actually pretty rich, anyway. The school I go to is a private school. But I'm still wondering how An got in there.
"I wouldn't want you to pay for me.. it just makes me feel bad when others do it, because it never happens." Kusanagi mutters. That was the whole point, though. I wanted to make this trip be the first she got to be happy on.
"I wanted to make this trip special for you. I'm grateful you're concerned for how much it will be, but I can afford it for all of you. After everything you guys have done, and how I want you to be happier, Kusanagi." I tried not to make it seem weird and targeted to Akito, since he's the first friend I had in a while.
Kusanagi's face turns red in an instant, and pushes me away from her.
"D-Don't say that so normally! W-Whatever, I didn't even care that much!" She continues to push her hand on my face, and I wonder if I made her angry again.
"Nene, let's go inside! Eheh, uh- enough flirting for today!" An pushes her inside, and Kusanagi yells at An.
I look at Akito, and he looks like he's maybe angry or sad. Maybe I should let him pitch in if it makes him feel that bad, I don't want him to be mad at me.
He notices I'm looking at him after a few seconds, and smiles.
"Let's head inside, Toya." He opens the door for me, and we go inside. Is this what Ena was talking about? Is he trying to cover his emotions up with a smile.? I know it wasn't a real smile.
"Over here!" An shouts, causing attention. Again.
We both sit down across from them, and An discusses what she'll get with Kusanagi.
"I really wish Kohane was here right now." An slumps.
"Who's 'Kohane'?" Kusanagi asks.
"My girlfriend!! She's so adorable, and she's shy just like you! I should introduce you both some time." An goes on about Azusawa, and Akito sighs.
"Do you not like 'Soba'?" The notebook goes everywhere with me.
"No, it's just I don't like eating with an annoying voice in front of me." He says, putting his head on my shoulder. An sticks her tongue out at him, and continues ranting.
"Toya, have you ever eaten soba..?" Akito asks, and I shake my head.
"Really?! Aoyagi has actually never had soba!?" Kusanagi gets alarmed. I'm assuming that it's what she likes.
"Please, call me Toya. We're friends, right-?" Plus, this is what Akito said when I first said his name. I'm still so embarrassed by our first meeting.
She grows red again, and hides her face in An's arm.
"Okay, T.. Toya.." She mutters, and I smile.
"A-Anyways, uh- Toya, since this is your first time having this, wouldn't you like to pick right now?" An shoves a menu in my face, and I look at the options.
After we all decide which one we want, An orders for all of us, and we get our drinks first. We have about an hour left, so we should be quick when eating. When the food comes, An goes off. She starts getting excited.. a little too much that people shush us. I get embarrassed, and apologize.
"Toya, don't go on the floor.."
The waiter explained that An ordered a secret ingredient, but she said she picked it out herself. I really hope it's not squid.
"Crap, I accidentally ordered the wrong one for Nene! She doesn't like spicy food and we don't have a lot of time to eat, uhh-"
"I can switch with her." I offer, and Akito looks at me.
"You don't have to, I can."
I shook my head, wanting him to eat what he ordered. He sighs.
"Th-Thank you.." Nene mumbles, as An switches our bowls.
We all eat, and I stare at my food. I can't handle spicy things well. What have I agreed to? But I can't skip lunch, plus I need to be quick.. whatever, I'll get over it.
I hesitantly put the noodles in my mouth, and swallow before I can taste it. Huh, it's not so bad. Might as well continue eating it.
"Thanks again for switching with me, Toya." Kusanagi thanks me, and I put a thumbs up while trembling and sweating like crazy. I literally can't see with all the tears in my eyes.
"Toya?! Your face is all red, don't eat it if you can't handle it!!" An shrieks, and Akito stops me from eating still.
"Stop eating! Here, let's switch!" Akito says, moving our plates and wiping my eyes.
After we got that settled, I thanked Akito a lot. He said he doesn't really get affected when it comes to spicy stuff, so that's good. Something in this soup tastes weird.
"Is that.." Akito holds up something in his noodles, and An smiles.
"Surprise! The secret ingredient was squid!!" She smiles radiantly, and I stop chewing.
"Wait-" Akito immediately looks at me, and puts a napkin under my chin. "Toya, don't force yourself to eat that! Spit it out!!"
I shake my head, refusing to spit it in his hands, while trying my best to chew it.
"Oh, does Toya not like squid?! I'm sorry, please spit it out!!" An joins in on the yelling, and Kusanagi can't hear with her earphones in.
I ended up spitting it out, and Akito had to throw it away before An tried putting it in a plastic bag to sell it. And dragging her away from the trash can because she tried to dig it out. What would I do without Akito...
We eventually finished our food, that was the craziest restaurant experience I've ever had. The waiter gave us a discount, but another customer tried asking for my number. Was I in trouble or something? Kusanagi and Akito protected me from the other people staring.
We have 25 minutes to head back to the hotel, let's just hope we make it on time. We rush to the station, and just barely make it to the train. An pants, and Kusanagi looks like she ran a Marathon. I'm not good at fitness stuff, so Akito had to hold my hand while running so I kept up. I blushed so hard my stamina increased.
"His hands are soft.." Akito mumbles, looking at his hand, as we all sit down.
"What was that?" An raises an eyebrow, and Akito blushes, looking away.
We took a long time getting there. Rushing, we see Ms. Hatsune standing outside, ready to yell at late people.
"We're almost there..!" An yells, and we make it past the door before the teacher's alarm goes off.
"Good job, you guys! I was worried." She smiles, walking away.
All of us let out a sigh of relief, and An drags herself to the girl's room so she can take a nap before heading to nara, and pukes all her soba out. We have to spend some time here before going out as a class. Me and Akito go back to the room to take a nap. Both of us are exhausted. Akito opens the door, and there's people around my mat with candles all over it and they're in a circle. He slams the door, and walks me to another place. I got chills.
We have to lay down in the lobby, I guess. Akito sighs, and sits down next to me. "So, what do you want to do for the next 2 hours?" He asks.
I try to think, but it's hard when he's this close. All I can hear now is the sound of my heartbeat..
"Here, I'll go convince the people in the room to stop.. whatever that was. And if the room is empty, maybe we can put a movie on the projector I saw earlier." He gets up, and I nod. I wonder what movie we'll play.
"It's a horror movie, baby!!" An cheers, bringing Kusanagi to the room and CDs. It's a what.
"You're okay with horror movies, right?" Akito asks, and I slowly nod. "That's good, because apparently it's the only ones An brought."
I'm not good with horror movies. I only watched one with my mother, and I couldn't sleep for a week. She even offered to sleep in my room with me, but I still couldn't go to bed.
"Alright everyone, shut up." An says, sitting next to me.
The start isn't so bad, it's just someone in an uncleaned bathroom and- oh. Is that a dead body.? I can't complain, since Akito came up with the idea. He'd be disappointed if I left now. Plus, I lied to him saying I was okay with horror movies.
Oh god, there's blood near it. That's disgusting, how can people wake up and think of these plots..? Oh well, at least my stomach isn't weak to blood.
.. But it seems like Kusanagi's is. She rushed out of the room, An ran after her, bringing a bag.
"This movie is so boring. I don't know why An brought these kinds of movies, horror movies suck honestly." Akito mumbles. It seems like Akito can get through anything.
Oh well, it won't be so bad if I act like I'm immune to these scary scenes as well, right..?